The building society's Loyalty Saver has attracted £8billion worth of balances - but it’s now cutting the amount it pays savers who signed up before July 2013

The Nationwide is punishing thousands of loyal customers by slashing savings rates.

The building society’s Loyalty Saver has been big hit, attracting £8billion worth of balances.

The product is open to customers who’ve been with the group for a least a year.

But it’s now cutting the amount it pays savers who signed up before July 2013.

Rates for those who’ve been with the Nationwide at least five years will drop from 1.7% to 1.5% on February 1.

It’s coming down from 1.9% to 1.6% for those who been with the company 10 years, and for 15 years plus from 2.1% to 1.7%.

A Mirror reader whose has been with the Nationwide 40 years fumed: “I was getting 2.6% when I first signed up and now it’s 1.7%.

"I feel like I was sucked in.”

The changes brings rates into line with customers who took out the Loyalty Saver product after last July but come despite no change in the Bank of England’s base rate.

The market average for an instant access savings account is just 0.7%.

The Nationwide said: “Savings rates have generally been reducing across the industry and we’ve had to take the difficult decision to react to these changes by bringing this in line with the rest of the market.”